Three – Escaping Sentence

I sat at the Dining table, not eating.

It was soup- Pumpkin soup, the same colour as the Hatter's Hair.

I couldn't help but keep thinking about him; sitting down in the dungeons alone, without any food, any water… without his hat.

I stood up and stormed out of the room, along the corridors and down to the stables where Nivens McTwisp had been assigned by Emerella to count stock.

"Nivens," I said, causing the rabbit to throw his quill and parchment into the air in shock. "Sorry."

Nivens bent to the ground and picked up the parchment, hastily.

"O-O-Oh that's alright My Lady," he stuttered, looking around to me as his nose twitched rapidly. "I should have been more alert to your presence."

I stepped forward, lowering my eyebrows.

"How could you possibly be more alert, I snuck up on you," I admitted, picking up the quill and handing it softly to him.

"T-T-Thank you," The Rabbit sniffled, taking the pen. "N-Now what can I do for you My Lady?"

"Yes, I was just wondering what would be the best time to see a prisoner down in the dungeons without stirring up any suspicion," I asked, trying to seem innocent.

The rabbit twitched his nose, pondering for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

"I would say… midnight," The Rabbit responded. "The guards have a twenty minute break at midnight for their supper so that would be the best time. Why do you ask My Lady?"

"Just pondering," I lied. "Thank you greatly Rabbit."

I curtseyed to Nivens and began to make my way out to the grounds before remembering something and pausing.

"Oh and one more thing Nivens," I said, turning around. "Where exactly did the Guards find Mr Hightopp?"

"By the eastern gardens My Lady," The Rabbit replied, pausing from his work. "Is that all?"

"Yes thank you," I commended, before walking out to the castle grounds.

I took one of the lanterns from the nearby wall and ran swiftly along the green silky grass towards the eastern wall.

I shone the lantern all over the various shrubs and bushes around the wall at least twice but there were no sign of the hat I was searching so hard to find.

Immensely disappointed I sat down on the edge of the fountain, feeling the small droplets of water bouncing onto the backs of my shoulders.

I lent around and trailed my hand through the glassy water, spying my reflection looking up at me.

How the Hatter managed to recognize me at all I did not know; I looked nothing like the real me.

A tear rolled out of my eye and into the water, making a large ripple within it.

That's when I saw it, a large hat right above me!

I looked up to see the still tattered hat sitting atop my mother's head on the fountain.

I grinned as I took the hat off the head and dusted it with my hands.

How it managed to stay atop there without anyone seeing was bewildering.

Smiling, I skipped back into the castle and dashed all the way up to my room, closing the door and hastily hiding the hat in my wardrobe.

I bathed and changed into my pyjamas and raced over to bed, sitting under the covers and pulling out a book.

The door suddenly opened and Emerella poked her head inside.

"Ah, you are ready for your beauty sleep My Lady," Emerella said, quietly. "Well I shall not disturb you, goodnight,"

"Goodnight Horracks," I replied, politely as Emerella closed the door.

I waited until she walked away before sighing happily.

For the next three hours I lay awake waiting for the pocket watch on my bedside table to strike twelve.

I slowly began to fall asleep before shaking my head and waking myself up.

I checked the watch; it was five to twelve.

Hastily, I got up and pulled on my favourite lavender dress which I still wore on occasional days and a pair of black flat boots. I took my black cloak from the hat-stand near the door and slung it over me before picking up the hat and slotting it under my cloak.

I carefully opened my door and stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind me.

Treading quietly I dashed down the hallway and along the next, weaving my way towards the dungeons.

I turned another corner to see a pair of guards heading right towards me.

I darted back behind the wall and hoped they hadn't seen me, before hiding behind a large pot nearby. I held my breath as I heard the guards go past and down the next hallway.

Breathing deeply, I left the safety of the pot and continued back down the now empty hallway, pushing through the red door and closing it behind me leaving me in darkness.

Luckily, I had been down to the dungeons many times with Emerella to talk to Frobis, a frog in charge of the dungeon jail cells, so I knew exactly where I was going.

I made it to the bottom of the steps and looked around the main check-in area where Frobis usually occupies.

I took the keys from his table, as well as the lit candle and opened the doors to the jail cells.

I tip-toed past all of the sleeping assailants, including the pig I had sentenced earlier who hadn't even touched any of the ham slices that were placed by his door.

Right down the end, I spied a familiar looking man kneeling down on the cold, dusty ground and looking towards the floor.

"Hatter?" I whispered, kneeling down on the other side of the bars and trying to see if he was awake or not. "Are you awake?"

He abruptly looked up, his green eyes wide open.

"What a silly question," he remarked. "Of course when you ask, 'are you awake' I am going to be awake- you've obviously just awoken me."

I smiled slightly.

"I'm glad to see your humour hasn't left you," I said, and looked away from me. "Here, I found this. You don't seem right without it."

I pulled out the hat from my cloak and placed it through the bars.

The Hatter looked back to me and lowered his eyebrows.

"You mean to say you sent your guards to find this?" he asked, softly.

"No, I found it," I said. "It was atop the Queen's statue in the fountain."

He looked back to the hat and slowly reached out to take it and place it upon his head.

"Beautiful!" I remarked, smiling.

The Hatter didn't smile.

"I'm sorry, it's just the Court would have killed me if I spared you," I explained. "I knew there was a chance you'd escape your sentence, you have friends outside this castle- I don't… in fact I'm beginning to doubt that I even have friends inside this castle."

There was silent for a while, only broken by the pig's stifling sobbing.

"You've grown," the Hatter said, quietly.

"So have you," I answered, quickly.

"Madder perhaps," the Hatter remarked. "But you have grown, more and more beautiful."

I looked up to him.

He was soo crazy- soo mad- and to hear him say something like that was almost like it came from another person.

"So you do remember me from all those years ago," I said, grinning.

The Hatter nodded.

"Of course," his eyes lit up as he spoke. "How could I forget? You were the only person that day that showed me kindness."

I half-smiled.

"And now look what I've done," I said, sadly. "I've sentenced you to your doom and all because I'm the bloody Red Queens' daughter."

"I never would have picked that," The Hatter said, in a deep accent.

I sighed.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't," I explained. "That way I could reunite with you in better terms."

"Yes my dear but if you weren't, I never would have met you at all now would I?" he said, positively. "And that would have been a darn shame!"

I laughed slightly.

"You kept me going for soo long you know, just wondering when I'd see you again," I admitted. "I mean, you were the first person in my life who didn't tell me I was useless or worthless or a…"

"Look a snail!" The Hatter cried standing and pointing to a small snail sitting atop his hat.

"Or that," I said, plainly.

The Hatter skipped over to the window and plucked off the snail, placing it on the small windowsill and watching it crawl away.

"Go on little guy, be free to roam with the little bugs- but watch out for the birds, they're nasty little things," The Hatter said to the snail, before it crawled off the window and along the wall.

I stood up, dusting off my dress.

"Well I better go; Emerella will discover I'm gone soon-"

"Yes, well I guess this will be the last night I see you," The Hatter said, still looking out the window.

"What?" I asked, pausing.

"My execution date, it's today," he continued, half-heartedly, "at dawn."

My eyes almost popped out of my skull.

"What!?" I repeated. "But I only sentenced you today! How could you have an execution date already!?"

"Easy," The Hatter replied, turning around and walking towards me. "Big Beefy Emerella wants me out of the picture A.S.A.P, so you better get out of here or you'll be joining me. Funny isn't it?!"

"No, you can't die yet?!" I cried, grabbing onto the cell bars and pushing my head into the cell.

"Well what's stopping me? Most certainly not you," The Hatter exclaimed. "I mean you aren't exactly a 'warrior' type are you? Most probably a coward, with yello' legs- or is it a yello' belly?"

I couldn't believe what he was informing me.

Emerella had gone behind my back to set a date for The Hatter's execution!

"That's it, I'm getting you out of here," I insisted, pulling out the keys and slotting one of them into the lock, opening the door quietly. "Come on, do you want to get out of here or not?"

"Not," The Hatter said, folding his arms and remaining where he was. "I'm scared of the dark."

"What?" I hissed, angrily.

"Well I won't be if you come with me?" he proposed, grinning and revealing his missing middle tooth.

"I can't-"

"Why not?" he exclaimed. "Do you really enjoy sentencing poor pigs to a life of eating his own kind on a daily basis? Cos it's only gonna get worse for yah love!"

I glanced to the ground.

"Don't you want to see what it's like outside the castle? To do whatever you want, whenever you want?" The Hatter asked, walking over to me and standing right beside me, whispering into my ear. "Don't you want to have friends? People who love you for you and aren't scared of the next word you say? Don't you want to be free?"

I took a deep breath.

I did want to be free- it was the thing I wanted most in this world. That and to be with The Hatter. If I went with him, I could have both could I not?

"And for a bonus treat," The Hatter cried, jumping back into the cell and removing his hat. "You get to accompany me, the man with the greatest hat in Underland."

He bowed to me, hat in hand and I smiled.

He brought the hat back up to his head, his eyes a bright glorious green and his droopy orange hair now springing up at either side of his head.

"Would you accompany me to the exterior of this castle My Lady?" The Hatter asked, holding her arm out to me and looking down at me with his adorable green eyes.

"Why yes Mr Hightopp I shall," I said, grabbing his arm and grinning up at him.

"Well then stop talking and let's get walking!" The Hatter cried, closing the door and dashing off down towards the exit of the dungeons.

I looked around at all of the harm I had caused to these poor people locked up in the cells.

How could I live knowing everyday I would cause this to innocent people?! It just wasn't me- my mother perhaps, but not me.

I looked at The Hatter and I saw me; the me I once was- happy, bubbly and ready for anything… perhaps that's why I cared for him so?

I grinned and ran after him, making our way to the top of the stairs and out into the hallway, closing the dungeon door behind us.

"So, good to go My Lady?" The Hatter asked, as we walked along the hallway.

"Please don't call me that," I asked, kindly.

"Why not My Lady?" The Hatter said, knowing it would drive me insane.

"Because it makes me feel superior when the truth is I am not," I replied, as we turned a corner and made it to the main staircase.

I hurried along the stairs and made it to the bottom before realising The Hatter wasn't with me.

I turned around to see him sliding along the railing, holding his hat down with his hand.

He jumped off at the end and grinned at me.

"Now that's how you go down the stairs!" He cried, and I smiled.

"They're down there!" cried a voice from up the stairs.

We looked up to see a group of guards at the top of the stairs, pointing down to us.

"Well that isn't good," The Hatter pointed out, obviously.

"No it's not, run!" I cried, grabbing The Hatter by the hand and tugging him away.

We ran down the front hallway and along another before making it to the front doors.

"How the devil do we get out?!" The Hatter asked, looking up at the large doors.

I spied the crank lever beside it and ran over.

"Help me," I yelled, beginning to pull the crank lever but it didn't move a bit.

The Hatter dashed over as we tried to pull the door open.

"How strong must your Guards be," The Hatter remarked, as we tried to pull the lever.

The guards were running towards us, spears in hand and ready to throw.

"Finally," I cried as the door fully opened.

"Onward," The Hatter yelled, taking my hand as we ran out the door and onto the drawbridge.

I looked behind us and as we ran as Emerella came into view.

"Close the drawbridge," I heard her shout and I began to run faster.

Suddenly the drawbridge began to shutter and rise slowly upward.

"This isn't good," The Hatter commented as we ran for the ground on the other side which was only a bit further.

We got right to the edge as the drawbridge kept going.

"Jump," I yelled, and with one quick leap we bounded off the drawbridge and onto the other side, running off as soon as we landed.

"GET THEM!" we heard Emerella yell, but we kept going.

We made it to the woods and slowed down to a walk through the trees in the moonlight.

"Wow!" I cried; spinning around in circles as The Hatter walked aimlessly beside me. "I can't believe I just did that!"

"I can't believe there is no "K" in school, but you don't hear me whining," The Hatter said, completely in another world.

I kicked up some leaves on the ground and smiled.

I had never felt this way before; for once I was free; no Emerella ordering me about, no rules I have to obey, no dress code I have to abide by- nothing!

The night was cool and the stars were shining pleasantly in the sky as a soft wind blew through the trees and shook the leaves to the soft muddy ground.

"So where are we headed to Hatter?" I asked him, softly.

"To the White Queen's Castle of course!" The Hatter beamed. "Where else?"

I smiled uncomfortably.

What if the Queen did not want me? What if she threw me back to Emerella who would most probably behead me? Would The Hatter even care?

"What is it?" The Hatter asked, raising his eyebrows.

I looked over to him and into his soft eyes.

"Nothing, it's just," I began, "do you think they'll… accept me? After all I am the Red Queen's daughter."

"A-ha!" The Hatter cried, abruptly. "But that also makes you the White Queen's niece does it not?"

I was silenced.

"I suppose you are correct Hatter," I said, smiling. "Well, that's great! Let us go at a hastily pace to the White Queen's Castle!"

"Alright then!" The Hatter cried, grinning.

All of a sudden, there was a sudden blast from a trumpet that filled the woods.

There were flashes of light from lanterns all around as dog barks echoed through the trees.

"They found us," I cried.

"Running time again," The Hatter suggested, as we tore off through the woods.

My heart pounded and my feet ached but I kept running- just thinking of returning to that elegant castle of white made me smile.

I kept running when suddenly the ground below me disappeared and I fell.

"Owe," I whelped, looking up.

I had only fallen about a meter and into a pile of leaves, but it still hurt.

I stood up and dusted off my hands.

I looked around but all I could see was a corridor with maroon bricked walls.

"Hello?!" I cried, but all I could hear was a vast echo.

Where in Underland was I?

Authors Note- thanks once again for everyone who has read this story so far, you guys are amazing! I hope this chapter was good, might have been a little confusing at stages and if it was im really sorry. Thankyou again :) MikiChik x